CLAREMONT, Calif. - The men's water polo team dropped a pair to Loyola Marymount University and Concordia University Irvine in non-conference action on Saturday, October 4th, at the Gary Troyer Tournament in Claremont, California.
MATCH ONE vs. Loyola Marymount
BOX SCORE
Score: McKendree University 6, Loyola Marymount University 22
Record: Bearcats 0-8, 0-0 WWPA | Lions 5-6, 0-0 WCC
HOW IT HAPPENED
McKendree was more than excited to dive into one of the most exquisite invitationals in the sport; the Gary Troyer Tournament. It was not a pretty start in the first game of the tournament, as LMU opened up with five straight goals with sophomore Abel Romero Corbalan (Madrid, Spain) putting in the first two, followed by sophomore Roman Saroyan (Fresno, Calif.) with the next two. The Bearcats would finally get on the board with a score from senior Alex Napawan (St. Louis, Mo.) but was followed by a Lions scoring possession from sophomore Max Diaz (Santa Fe, Mexico) 17 seconds later. Subsequently, after that, McKendree scoring leader, freshman Joshua Gibson (Nassau, Bahamas) netted one in, along with a penalty goal from sophomore Isaac Demski (Eastvale, Calif.) with under a minute remaining, but LMU's graduate Baptiste Oliveri (Marseille, France) forced one in with seconds remaining, giving his team a comfortable 7-3 lead.
The second quarter was all Lions, as they scored the period's only four goals – with Romero Corbalan earning himself a hat-trick with a contributing goal within that stretch.
Momentum was still heavy on LMU's side in the third period of play, as they opened up with five straight scoring possessions, making it 10 straight going back to the end of the first quarter. The monumental run was capped off with back-to-back goals from freshman Josiah Yeager (San Mateo, Calif.). Bearcat senior Jespyn Bishop (Brighton, Colo.) halted the streak by the opposition by slinging the ball into the net, but the Lions would tack on two more to end the third quarter to enhance the lead 18-4.
McKendree would open up the final period of play with a first goal of the season from senior Ethan Gray (St. Louis, Mo.), which would then be followed by three more sores from LMU. Sophomore Emi Martinez (Mexico City, Mexico) would notch in his first goal of the season as well, but the Lions would end it with one more, pulling out a big win 22-6.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
MATCH TWO vs. Concordia-Irvine
BOX SCORE
Score: McKendree University 10, Concordia University Irvine 22
Record: Bearcats 0-8, 0-0 WWPA | Golden Eagles 6-12, 0-0 WWPA
HOW IT HAPPENED
McKendree was hoping to do better in match number two against Concordia, who started out hot, just like LMU did in the opening minutes as they connected on the first five goals of the game. Graduate Konstantinos Koulouris (Thessaloniki, Greece) was a big part of that sequence, scoring the first four of those five. With 1:44 remaining in the first quarter, junior James Ramey (St. Louis, Mo.) put in the Bearcats' first two goals with senior Jacob Stuart (Yucaipa, Calif.) sneaking one in between for the Golden Eagles, as they would end the period leading 6-2.
The second quarter was a battle between McKendree's sophomore Yannick Robertson (Trinidad and Tobago) and Concordia's junior Harry Bentham (Manchester, U.K.) who both went back and forth within the first four minutes of the period with Bentham outscoring Robertson 3-2 in that stretch. The Golden Eagles would tack on three more goals subsequently to end the half with a 12-4 lead.
Momentum was still on Concordia's side, as Koulouris opened up the second half with his sixth goal of the game. Robertson and Bentham would once again score on back-to-back possessions, followed by a goal from Demski, trying to put his team back into the match. The third quarter would be rounded out by four Golden Eagle goals with senior Stan De Mey (Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands) contributing on the latter two and increasing the lead 18-6.
With each of the prior three quarters being a 6-2 advantage for Concordia, the fourth and final quarter of play was an even showing with both teams notching four goals apiece. Without any scoring for a few minutes, Gibson finally got one for the Bearcats, and soon with the Golden Eagles scoring once more. McKendree freshman Noah Schott (St. Louis, Mo.) picked up where he left off yesterday and put in another goal with Concordia answering again. Schott would soon put in his second goal of the day along with teammate sophomore Rowan Daughtrey (Commerce City, Colo.) making it two scores straight. The Golden Eagles would cap off two more by junior Charlie Johnson (Tacoma, Wash.), giving him a hat-trick in just the fourth quarter alone. Concordia would go on to win 22-10.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
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Senior Griffin Beth (Costa Mesa, Calif.) was in for 24 minutes of the game in the net, tallying three saves, while backup freshman goalkeeper, Hale Durbiano, was in for the remaining eight minutes and racking up one single save.
UP NEXT
Mckendree will make a quick turnaround as they will continue competing tomorrow Saturday, October 5th, starting with Fresno Pacific University (Calif.) early in the morning at 8:00 AM PDT, followed by California Lutheran University at 4:00 PM PDT. Both matches will take place at the De Mandel Aquatics Center in Los Angeles, California.
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